Before Iris got very far, a ball of dark energy collided into the tree behind her, followed by two more that hit the ground in a seemingly random pattern. Looks like they're trying to flush me out, and if I stand here for too long more than that's going to happen. I need a plan...
"Hey! Are you boys so scared of one little Vulpix that you're gonna hide behind that blob!? What a buncha wimps!" she yelled mockingly, jumping to the side when a Shadow Ball landed close to where she'd been standing. "Your aim's worse than a deaf Zubat's!" She could hear angry growls, so apparently he words were having some effect.
"Cool it, boys! She's just trying to get us riled up. Vulpix may be small, but they pack a punch. We have to play this smart if we don't want her to catch any of us off guard. Remember we have the advantage of being involved." She heard the leader say, and the growling ceased. That didn't work as I hoped.... or maybe it worked even better. As she cautiously peeked through a bush, she noticed that someone was noticeably missing.
"Where'd the Skitty go!?" the leader barked, looking around frantically. "She got away! How!?" A snarl entered his voice as he glared at one of his subordinates.
"I-I dunno, Boss. I thought Wobby was watchin' her," the Mightyena answered, trembling.
"Wobbuffet?"
"Well, gee, boss. You never told me to keep an eye on her," the Wobbuffet, said, shrugging a little. "When she ran off in the direction of that guild thing, I figured that you were letting her go to spread the word of your awesome fury. I don't know how you expected me to know any better..."
Slapping his forehead with his paw, the leader sighed and turned back to his subordinate and ordered, "Take two more of our pack with you and track that Skitty down. I will not tolerate anymore failures. The rest of us will take care of the meddler." Uh oh I think he means me. Time to hightail it outta here! Although she ran away as fast as she could, it wasn't long before she heard sounds of pursuit.
Using Quick Attack, she made some distance but felt herself tiring at a much faster rate, so she deactivated it. Just when she thought that she might get away, she came to a large lake blocking her path. Panting heavily, she slowed to a stop at its bank. What was she going to do now?